After the stoning of Stephen, persecutions forced many Christians to flee from
Jerusalem. Some went to Antioch, the capital of the Roman province of Syria
and third largest city in the Roman Empire. They preached the Gospel there
and gained many converts. Church leaders in Jerusalem heard of the success
in Antioch and sent Barnabas there. Barnabas recruited Saul to help and they
spent the next year teaching in Antioch.

The followers of Jesus were first
called "Christians" at Antioch. Up until this time, they had been known as
"The Way," "saints," "brothers" or "disciples." "Christian" may have initially
been a derogatory term used by the Gentiles at Antioch, but Jesus' followers
soon adopted it as their own.

Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Saul
and Barnabas were commissioned and sent out on a missionary journey of perhaps
two years to spread the Gospel message. At this time, Saul became know as "Paul."
No one is sure why, but his Roman name Paul may have been better suited for
a ministry to Gentiles than his Hebrew name Saul.

9. Look at the map of the Paul's First Missionary Journey in the Introduction.a) Where did Paul and Barnabas begin and end their journey?b) What
cities did they visit?c) Where are those cities located in the modern
world?

10. Where did Paul preach first when he arrived in a new city? (See Acts 13:5,
13:14, 14:1.)

11. a) How did the Jews respond to Paul's preaching?b) How did the Gentiles
respond to Paul's preaching? (See Acts
13:42-50, 14:1-5, 14:19-20.)

12. How did Paul and Barnabas support and nurture the Christian churches they had
established along the way? (See Acts
14:21-23).